Sunroom or 4 Season Porch? How to Decide
With the onset of warmer weather here in Minnesota we are all thinking about how to prolong the time we can enjoy our backyards! One of the options below is a great way to enjoy your garden or view year round!
Sunroom: This room — also called a solarium or conservatory — is a glass enclosed space typically attached to the house and accessible from indoors. It is designed to function as additional living area during mild weather but may be too hot or cold in the heart of summer or winter. Four Seasons brand sunrooms are designed to keep the temperature consistent year round because of the specialty coatings and custom Cardinal glass they use that carries a lifetime warranty.
All Seasons room: Closely related to the sunroom, this option is designed to be heated and cooled. As a result, it can be enjoyed year-round.
Attached greenhouse: Featuring the same basic structure and shell construction as a sunroom or an all seasons room, an attached greenhouse structure offers light, temperature, and humidity levels that are designed to be ideal for plants and humans.
Screen room or porch: This option has walls constructed of mesh rather than glass, which offers the advantage of fresh air without insects. Like the sunroom, it is habitable only when the weather is agreeable. It makes a terrific budgetary choice.
Then there are material options to consider
Aluminum is still the structural material of choice for the majority of sunrooms built today. Its unique qualities of light weight and structural strength make it ideal for use as a building material. Our heavy-gauge aluminum is extruded into slim, elegant profiles to maximize your glass viewing area without sacrificing structural strength. All Four Seasons Sunrooms aluminum structures are further “thermally improved” to reduce the likelihood of outside temperatures reaching interior surfaces to keep your room warmer in winter and cooler in summer.
Nothing can beat the warmth and grace of a warm natural wood interior in your sunroom. Engineered from sustainable slow-growth Northern White Pine with a pine or oak finish, you can seal our wood-framed structures with paint, stain or clear-coat to suit your own personal style. To protect the wood and provide you with a low-maintenance surface, all Four Seasons Brand wood sunrooms and conservatories come with our exclusive exterior glazing track system. This aluminum and rubber gasket system mounts to the exterior of the wood beams to prevent the glass from ever touching your fine woodwork, virtually eliminating water staining and reducing exterior maintenance just like our all-aluminum structures.
Long the preferred material for home siding, vinyl is quickly becoming the standard material for windows in sunrooms. It’s low weight, superior durability and rot and corrosion resistance have made it recognized as a superior building material for everything from fences to decks. Chambers within our vinyl windows and doors trap air to act as an excellent thermal barrier, much like the insulation in your walls or the air space in the insulated windows around your home. With elegant profiles and a variety of choices of interior trim, your Four Seasons hybrid sunroom or conservatory can be customized to match your unique décor.
In addition, all Four Seasons aluminum sunrooms and conservatories feature a durable, low- maintenance painted finish in white, sandstone or bronze to reduce your home maintenance chores. Many of these decisions are determined by the climate you live in and the activities you enjoy. Setting aside some time to visit with a Minnesota Rusco Sunroom consultant will help you get the best space for what you want!
